Effect of probiotic, prebiotic and synbiotic on faecal microbial count and cellmediated immunity in crossbred calves

A study was conducted to evaluate the impact of probiotic, prebiotic and synbiotic as feed additives on faecal counts of coliform and E. coli along with cell mediated immune response in crossbred calves. For this purpose fifteen days old, 24 crossbred calves were divided into 4 groups of 6 calves each. The calves were assigned to different dietary treatments viz T₀(control group)-basal diet, T₁ (probiotic group)-basal diet + Lactobacillus acidophilus @ 1 g/calf/day (2x 10¹⁰ cfu/g), T₂(prebiotic group)basal diet + Mannan oligosaccharide (MOS) @ 4 g per calf/day and T₃(synbiotic group) basal diet + Lactobacillus acidophilus @ 0.5 gm (2x 10¹⁰ cfu/g)+ 2 g MOS per calf/day respectivelyfor aperiod of 90 days. Faecal samples for coliform and E. coli count were taken at 15 days interval. Blood samples were taken at 15 days interval for lymphocyte count. Blood samples were taken at 45^th and 90^th-day for lymphocyte stimulation test (LST) in EDTA coated vials. Skin fold test was done on 90^th day of experimental study. The results of study showed that there was a significant reduction in faecal shedding of coliform and E. coli in T₁, T₂ and T₃ groups indicating lesser proliferation of pathogenic bacteria in the gut. The treatment groups T₂ and T₃ showed a significant increase in lymphocyte count whereas all the treated groups had significantly higher values of the lymphocytic index on 45^th and 90^th day post supplementation indicating improved cell mediated immunity. Increased skin fold thickness was observed post 48 hours of phytohaemagglutinin injection in T₂ and T₃ groups. It may, therefore, be concluded that supplementation of prebiotic and synbiotic is advantageous in attaining gut conditioning and enhanced immunity which may be helpful in preventing calf scours in crossbred calves.